The Dubai Men's College, Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) is using digital projectors as part of its Smart Classroom initiative. The projectors, supplied by HP in partnership with Audiviz Technologies, can be connected to a variety of inputs, both analogue and digital, allowing teachers to use different material in their lectures. The deal is HP's largest such win across the entire Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Altogether, the College will use 85 HP xp8010 digital projectors, HP's top of the line products, which feature DLP technology, longer lasting than traditional LCD. "The xp8010 is also network-connectable and can be easily integrated with your existing IT systems," says Amr Hassan, general manager, HP Imaging and Printing Group Middle East. "We needed a system that was not only feature rich but also was easily accessible to users and required a minimum of training for users," says Paul Herspiegel, broadcast engineer, HCT, Dubai Men's College. "The HP 8010, while delivering in terms of features, is a straightforward product for people to use.” The project should be completed this week, with the majority of projectors already in place in classrooms. "So far, feedback has been very good from the users," says Dr Bill Vega, director, HCT, Dubai Men's College. "The technology is definitely providing what we want in terms of results." Indeed, those faculty members who have not yet been equipped with the projectors are starting to get very vocal on the subject, having received positive reports from colleagues who have, he says. The scheme is part of a broader project by the College, the Smart Classroom, which aims to provide teachers with the technology to carry out a range of different teaching methods." We have 200 faculty and 200 different sets of needs, as every teacher has their own method of delivering information," says Herspeigel. The xp8010 can be connected to different media, TV, VCR or computers, and the College has integrated them with its IT system, allowing both wired and unwired access. The projectors are controlled by a central administrator who can operate any individual projector on the network. "Managing 85 projectors in different classrooms could be a nightmare," says Manoj Pillai, general manager Audiviz Technologies, which specialises in education projects and implemented the solution. "You need to be sure that all of them are up and running. "This is a very significant project for us," he adds. "We have worked very effectively both with HCT as well as HP to deliver a solution that sets a new benchmark for classroom solutions in the region." HCT is also looking at being able to deliver live or interactive content between locations on the campus and other locations outside the campus as the system matures in the future.